Domestic appliance retail chain BCC has applied for court protection from creditors while curators look for a solution to the company’s financial problems.

The company, owned by Mirage Retail Group, said in a statement it had been dealing with “continuing and increasing difficult market conditions”. Court protection from creditors is usually a precursor to bankruptcy.

Mirage Retail owner Michiel Witteveen told the Financieele Dagblad that BCC had been hit by a downturn in consumer spending.

“Rent, wages and energy are all more expensive,” he said. “To make money you have to increase the margins but suppliers refuse to move in that direction.”

BCC has 56 shops nationwide and a workforce of around 1000. It has faced increasing competition from online retailers Coolblue and Bol.com, and from Mediamarkt.

Mirage, which also owns Blokker and Intertoys, bought BCC from French firm Fnac Darty for a token amount in 2020 and was unable to claim NOW support to pay wages during the coronavirus pandemic.

The company currently owes the tax office €30 million had made a loss of €21 million in 2021, the FD said.